Page 54 of The Addict

“This better be good,” I heard David’s menacing tone through the walls.

I waited the next few minutes, still trying to decode the mumbles that were from my mother, most likely explaining the whole situation. I chuckled to myself, knowing full well that David wouldn’t care in the least. He’d probably tell the whole “family” to just leave me there and head out for dinner.

“Where is he?”

But on the other hand...

The door swung open and I didn’t even bother to look up to see who walked in. I knew who it was.

The sharp sound of the lock echoed through my ears and I tensed like a wild animal, every muscle rigid and ready to spring to action if needed. Footsteps neared my seated profile.

“You stupid fuck,” he seethed.

My nostrils flared. “Yeah?”

“Daddy is going to be the one that loves you most...”

I could feel him standing to the side of the chair, mere inches away.

“I wouldn’t come any closer,” I warned in a whisper, and chanced a glance upwards at his surprised expression. I wasn’t even quite sure where those words arose from, or how I pronounced them so clearly. I steadied myself against the arm rests of the chair, expecting the worst.

A sinister laughter filled the room. I shook fiercely.

“Well, just look at you,” David clapped his hands together twice, circling the chair. “Is Mommy’s baby boy all grown up now?”

“I’ll show you what it’s like to be a man.”

“Are you a man now, or something?”

“Don’t cry. You know that you enjoy this. Be a man, Noah.”

“You think you’re the boss of the house, huh? Grew some balls, did you?”

I grit my teeth. I knew this process. David was trying to break me down, as he did before when I was a child.

Well, I wasn’t a child anymore. And his antagonizing wouldn’t scare me.

“I’m more of a man than you will ever be,” I growled.

The moment the words left my lips I knew the retaliation was coming.

David ripped me from the seat, his hands tightly gripped around the loose part of my shirt. I was no match for his strength. He lifted and slammed me to the floor, knocking the wind out of me. Before I could move, his fist swiftly drove into my gut.

“You are?” David bellowed. “You think so, bitch? So, man the fuck up. Fight back.”

I coughed, unable to speak or breathe. I curled inward, clutching my abdomen, instincts telling me that I needed to protect myself.

David leaned down, and I felt the hard exhale of his beer-tinted breath on my face. His lips curved into a snarl. “I showed you what being a man was, you insolent brat!”

My eyes shot to his. The scary reality of that statement was that David actually believed his twisted words. He actually thought that he did me a favor, and that I owed him for my “upbringing” at his hands. He was proud of what he put me through, and that was not something I could ignore.

“What in God’s name are you spouting?” I screamed, struggling in his iron hold. “You destroyed my childhood!”

David watched me with an amused gleam in his eyes. I felt like vomiting.

“I destroyed your childhood, eh?”

He bent to the side of me and grabbed hold of my chin. I tried to turn my face away from those prying eyes. That horrid soul had taken everything of importance, and yet still yearned to extract what small amount of dignity that remained in me.